colbz

I went to the open house last year, it was a good experience.

already got it a while back...still overwhelmed. lol. I did pick out a few easier to get into places. but I guess there really isnt such a thing as a good safety school when it comes to studio art

I just heard back today. They gave me very brief advice unfortunately, but I'll take anything. Firstly, I had asked them if it was ok to include earlier work that differs in style from my current work as a way to show development. To this they said yes, that is good because they like seeing development. (I don't think all schools would be ok with this though...I think some schools would rather see everything very cohesive.) Secondly, I had asked them if they take dimensions into consideration, or if it is important to photograph work showing scale, like in a gallery. They said it's not necessary to do that, because they consider the written dimensions. (once again, I don't think all schools would be the same way). Then the only advice they offered me was that in my artist statement I didn't need to go on and on about my work, I should just explain it in 100 words. Of course they aren't going to say if your work is strong or not....they would never discourage someone because they want that application fee money. Unfortunately it's a business.

Pretty sure UPenn doesn't offer generous funding...I visited there and they told me that although everyone gets to be a TA, they only give TA's $1500 per semester which really kind of sucks considering the price of an ivy league. PS I see you were accepted to Montclair State, I've never heard of it, I like the sound of a school so close to NYC but not inside of it. Do you know anything else about it? Like how selective it is? I'm applying to Rutgers too but I know they are really selective.

Hey majohnson, I know this was over a year ago, but if you see this, where did you end up getting in to? I'm also applying this year to a lot of the same places you did...SUNY Purchase, CCNY, PAFA, and Tyler! I had thought that CCNY was a little easier to get in to, but maybe I am wrong.

I thought it was ok to apply for painting, but submit some drawings as well if they are relevant to the paintings. I had been planning on doing that...I have some charcoal and ink wash works that I wanted to include with my paintings, but maybe I'm wrong.

I know this post was a while back, but in case you see this....I'm wondering, does it lower your chances if you interview over the phone instead of in person?

Have you heard back yet? I'm still waiting on hoffberger...so maybe Monday. I checked out your website, orangetrousers, your paintings are really beautiful and remind me of Dutch still lifes.

What school did you end up going to? And if you don't mind sharing, I'm curious as to what was your response for "why graduate school now?"

When I sent my pre-portfolio to MICA, they seemed to want to know in my statement what I was planning on doing when I get to an MFA program. It was like they wanted to know not only what my work was about, but also where I want it to go in the near future. They also wanted to know my reasons for everything such as color choices, and the use of a recurrent image that I hadn't even noticed I used over and over in my paintings

What do you all know/ have you heard about these schools for an MFA in painting?.....Any that you think are or aren't good programs? Thanks for any info on them! University of Delaware Bard NYU Pratt Parsons SUNY Purchase SUNY New Paltz Queens College

Thanks, yes that's good advice... this is so overwhelming!

I did discuss why I wanted to go to grad school, but only in a brief sentence, haha. We can compare pictures sometime later this week if you want, I'm about to make a two hour drive, and haven't updated my website with any of my new stuff. What kind of work do you do? I didn't submit 20....I think I put in maybe 16 or so, but I also have some big 6 and 7 footers., so I put in a few detail shots. I also have work that is underway that was not complete enough for me to include two weeks ago. We also still have more than a month to continue working on our portfolios....so I feel a tiny bit better about that, but yes it's way too intense. I think they are sending out the feedback individually, but maybe we are getting ours later because we submitted later? I sent mine like 2 hours before the deadline.

I haven't gotten my feedback from Hoffberger yet...I did get it just now from the low residency program though. They used a lot of big words...I felt dumb having to use a dictionary to read it. They said I needed to address things such as where I want to go with my work, as I kind of just talked about my work conceptually without mentioning what I want to do when I get to grad. They seemed to want to know specific ideas of what I want to evolve or build on in my work. They also said I need a more in depth explanation of why I want to go to graduate school, although I kind of put my statement together last minute, so it needs a lot of tweaking. They gave me a list of a lot of great questions to think about and address in my statement, also. They didn't really give much portfolio advice except to make sure I only include work that represents what I want to continue working on, if that makes sense.

I graduated with my BFA in May 2010, and it's my first year applying! So far I have decided to for sure apply to SVA, Rutgers, Tyler, and UT Austin. I want to apply to at least 8 schools, so I am trying to narrow it down within the next week or so. Other schools I am looking at are Delaware, Columbia, SUNY Purchase, SUNY New Paltz (has anyone heard much about this one?), Parsons, Queens college, Hunter, VCU (although I would like to leave VA), Bard, and some other places.

We all know what the really good schools are...I am applying to Tyler, Rutgers, UT Austin, SUNY Purchase, and SVA so far for painting, and deciding where else I want to apply...I'm not sure if I want to apply to Yale or RISD yet. All of these schools, even the ones that aren't Yale, RISD, Columbia, MICA, VCU, Tyler, Cranbrook, etc are still quite selective, with most of them taking only about 10% even if they aren't a top tier school! So, what I am asking, is what schools are you all applying to as "safety" schools, or places that are less selective, yet still worth attending? One of my professors recommended University of Delaware, and Texas Tech. I would like to chose 2 or three schools to apply to that I have a greater chance of getting accepted, as it would be nice to only go through this process once. Any thoughts? Also, what have you all heard about SUNY New Paltz?

I'm in the exact same boat! I've been painting my butt off since June, but I am worried I'm not going to make it. This is the worst stress

Where did you apply to?? And which schools were you accepted to, and why did you decide not to go? I'm applying for the first time this fall.

Yea, that all makes sense. It's just that there are 1800 MFA programs in the US....according to a book that my professor is letting me borrow, although that book is from 1999. I's so hard because I don't even know how to begin narrowing it down. I know I want to go near a big city, so I started with that...but a ton of them are near big cities. I tried ruling out a few states that I refuse to live in, but that still leaves a huge list. PS. has anyone heard anything about The School of Visual Arts in NYC? My friend went there undergrad but my graduate school books don't have it.

I'm just wondering, how did you all go about narrowing down your schools? I mean, I know what the top MFA painting programs are, but I want to apply to ones that are less selective as well. I feel like it's like a lottery! What I am saying is, how do you go about finding your "safety schools?" For college it was different, because a degree is a degree, but for an MFA program I feel like it really matters where you go. What schools are not ranked in the very top, but are still worth it?